New ANAD recycling office now open

By Mrs. Jennifer Bacchus (AMC)June 11, 2010

New ANAD recycling office now open
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Alex Khamis, project engineer for the Anniston Army Depot's Directorate of Public Works; Phillip Trued, depot chief of staff; Col. S. B. Keller, depot commander; Jack Cline, deputy to the commander; and Thelma McCullough, retired former manager for t... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New ANAD recycling office now open
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. - "Three years ago, we embarked on a journey to move recycling operations from the mule barn to the mansion," said Jim Webb, director of community and family activities, as he officially opened the new offices for the depot's recycling program on June 6.

The new building will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, meaning it was built to strict environmental standards. Webb said he believes the building will attain a silver rating, the second of four possible levels, once LEED inspectors finalize their results in two months.

Some of the environmentally friendly features that will assist in LEED certification are:

Aca,!Ac Two spaces for electric cars with outlets for recharging

Aca,!Ac A white parking lot to reflect light and heat

Aca,!Ac Skylights and windows that let in plenty of light, but are coated and double paned to reduce the amount of heat entering the building

Aca,!Ac Glass walls in two offices to let in natural light

Aca,!Ac Bamboo flooring

Aca,!Ac Wood from a controlled forest

Aca,!Ac Recycled carpet

Aca,!Ac Recycled content in all furniture

Aca,!Ac Cork flooring in the conference room

Aca,!Ac Wallpaper with recycled content

Aca,!Ac Low volatile organic compound paint

Aca,!Ac Energy-efficient lighting

Aca,!Ac Low flow toilets

"This building and all the concepts in it are a dream that we started a long time ago," said Thelma McCullough, who retired from the depot in 2009 after serving as the head of recycling for 15 years. McCullough was on hand for the ribbon cutting to see her dream come to fruition.

LaNoah Ealy, business manager for the Recycling Center, called the building the highlight of the recycling program's success.

The program, which began in 1982, has gone from bringing in $1,000 in the first years to $8 million in recent years.

Ealy and the other workers in the recycling center will move out of the old recycling center in the next few weeks. Once everything is taken out of the mule barn, it is slated for demolition.

Next door to the new office is another recent upgrade for the recycling program. A building constructed in July 2009 houses the program's $350,000 shredder. With this machine, the material handlers in the recycling program can shred and bundle in a few hours an amount of paper that would have taken days on their old equipment.